Hey Jealousy
by PurplePlatypusBear21
Summary: Sokka's never had a homophobic bone in his body, but then why does seeing Zuko with Jet make his blood boil? Is he really that judgmental, or could it be something else? Zukka Week 2020. Sokka x Zuko and other ships. Slow burn.
1. Night and Day

**Artwork: **Thank you so much to sunnyartsstudio for the super adorable Zukka artwork!

* * *

**Night and Day**

Zuko tried to conceal his smile as he watched his roommate unpack his belongings and rant about his summer. Although he had tried everything he could to get over his roommate during the break, being back with him and that big, warm, happy-to-see-you hug he received immediately upon his arrival undid all of his perceived progress. Nonetheless, it was good to be back at Ba Sing Se University. Back with _him_. With Sokka, his best friend in the world.

So smart, so charismatic, so witty, and those sea blue eyes… it was just too easy to fall for someone like Sokka. Not to mention their instantaneous friendship. Zuko had never connected with anybody quite like that before. His feelings never wavered, not when Sokka started dating Yue the second month of freshman year until she decided to transfer to be closer to family, and not even when Sokka asked Suki to be his girlfriend not too long after that. It gnawed at his insides every time Suki was in their room, which seemed like all the damn time, watching them cuddle, hold hands, and make out. He was absolutely thrilled when Sokka texted him in June announcing that Suki broke it off with him. Now Sokka was single, happy to be back, decorating their room, and prattling on about something…

"So what do you think?"

Zuko blinked his eyes. "Huh? What?"

"Dude, were you even listening?"

"Sorry…"

"Ugh," Sokka groaned. "This is important." He sighed and shook his head. "Stand up."

"What, why?"

"Because we're making a pact."

"Okay…" He stood from his mattress. His feet firmly affixed to the floor, Zuko's heartrate gradually sped up as Sokka proceeded to walk right up in front of him.

"So as you know, my grades weren't the best last semester and I almost lost my scholarship. I _need_ to focus more this year. I'm not happy it's come to this, but… I'm swearing off girls for the year. No dating, no girlfriends."

Zuko's heart leapt in his chest. This was the best news he could possibly receive.

"But I need you to promise to do the same."

"What, swear off girls?" he laughed. "Easy."

"You know what I mean," Sokka smiled. "No dating, no _boyfriends_."

"And how does _me_ swearing off boys help _you_ stay focused exactly…?"

"Because… I wasn't exactly the greatest roommate in the world last year since I was too distracted with Suki, but this year…" He placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "…I want it to just be about the two of us."

Zuko swallowed, choking a bit as he scrambled to figure out what to say. His heart was pounding. He hated feeling so hopeless.

"So promise me, won't you?" Sokka asked, his blue eyes beckoning.

"I-I prom – " Zuko was cut off by a knock at the door. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No, are you?"

"No."

Sokka shrugged and crossed the room to open the door. "Can I help you?"

"Hey," a boy with mischievous brown eyes answered. "I just moved in across the hall from you. The name's Jet."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sokka." He gestured behind him with a nod of his head. "And this is – "

"Hi, Zuko here," the firebender blurted, instantly embarrassed by the phrasing. The new guy was _hot_. And Zuko was in desperate need of a distraction from his feelings for Sokka. Jet seemed like he could be the perfect distraction.

Sokka raised an eyebrow at his roommate as Jet chuckled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Jet looked around their room, his eyes darting to the big screen television and scanning all the videogame systems and DVDs. "I really just wanted to introduce myself. I just transferred from Gaipan State. Go Badgermoles, I guess."

Zuko laughed harder than he should have, which seemed to annoy Sokka for some reason.

"Anyway, my roommate isn't here yet, and I was hoping maybe someone could show me around campus."

"I-I'd love to," Zuko responded a little too enthusiastically.

* * *

Sokka _saw_ it. The sparkle in Zuko's golden eyes as they locked on to Jet's face. It made Sokka feel sick to his stomach. This year was supposed to be about just the _two_ of them, Sokka and Zuko conquering sophomore year together. So much for their pact.


	2. Masquerade

**Masquerade**

Sokka was in a mood. He was forced to sit in his uncomfortable swivel desk chair while Zuko and Jet took up the beanbag chair. The two of them were practically inseparable since Jet had introduced himself. Stupid Jet and his stupid handsome face.

"Okay okay, I got one." Zuko paused. "Never have I ever smoked a cigarette."

Jet was the only one to take a drink.

Sokka scoffed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Yeah… I'm not proud of it, but I used to smoke in high school. I haven't smoked in over a year though, well…" Jet smirked. "…not cigarettes anyway."

"Okay, whatever, it's my turn. Never have I ever…" Sokka tried to think of a good scenario, but he was too annoyed to think. Fortunately, he was interrupted by a demanding whap at the door. Seeing that Zuko and Jet weren't going to get up from their love nest, he rolled his eyes and answered the door. A strikingly beautiful girl entered without an invitation.

"Day drinking, are we now? Father would be so proud."

"What the hell are you doing here, Azula?" Zuko groaned.

Ah, so this was Zuko's infamous sister. Sokka should have known. They looked so much alike.

"What, am I not allowed to pay my dear brother a visit?"

"Did you get bored of the freshmen already?"

"Not at all," she hummed. "I just wanted to finally meet your roommate." She turned her attention to Sokka. "Sokka, I take it?" She extended her hand.

"Azula," he said, shaking her hand. It was soft. "Nice to meet you."

"I've heard so much about you." She smiled mischievously. "Zuzu couldn't stop talking about you all summer."

"Zuzu?" Jet snickered.

"Azula, that's enough," Zuko barked.

Sokka actually found the nickname endearing. And it felt good to know that Zuko talked about him. "I've, uhhh, heard a lot about you too." He flashed her an awkward grin.

"All good things, I'm sure."

"All… things," Sokka shrugged, laughing nervously, "Definitely things."

"Wait a second…" Her yellow eyes drifted over to the beanbag chair, settling on Jet. "Are you a sophomore?"

"Yeah…"

"Then why do I recognize you from the freshman orientation masquerade ball?"

"I'm a transfer student. We were invited to attend the orientation. The name's Jet by the way…"

She nodded, looking at him suspiciously. "I know who you are, _Jet_."

He shifted his eyes from left to right. "Ummm… okay?"

"You're the one who kissed that waterbender girl at the masquerade – "

Zuko frowned.

"Wait, what waterbender girl?" Sokka asked.

" – and then you ghosted her after the night was over," Azula continued.

"So?" Jet asked dismissively.

Azula narrowed her eyes at him. "So, the waterbender has been in my room complaining loudly to my roommate every night about the super hot guy who kissed her at the party and then ghosted her. It's really quite annoying."

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You don't like me because you had to listen to someone complain?"

"That's Azula for you," Zuko chimed in.

"Well that, _and_ it's a scummy thing to lead someone on like that." Azula crossed her arms. "Do you even remember her name?"

"Uhhh…" Jet chuckled. "Can't say I do."

"Her name's Katara. And her self-pity and constant venting has really been disruptive to my studies."

Sokka gritted his teeth.

Zuko looked up at his roommate with wide, worried eyes.

"Katara's my _sister_." Sokka turned to Jet. "How could you do that to her?"

"Look." Jet sighed. "I didn't mean to lead her on or anything. How was I supposed to know she'd take one little kiss so seriously?"

"Why'd you kiss her?" Boy oh boy was Sokka pissed.

"She caught me pouring liquor into the punchbowl, and I thought if I could charm her, she wouldn't rat on me.

Sokka was just about ready to punch him. Fuck this guy.

"Well, aren't you quite the gentleman?" Azula asked sarcastically. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing with my brother, but Zuzu is too good for you – "

Zuko's eyes lit up at the unusual compliment from his sister.

" – and he's not too good for anyone," she finished.

Zuko's face immediately fell.

"You'd better watch your back." Azula turned to leave.

"Ooh, I'm shaking." Jet's retort was equally sarcastic.

Azula slammed the door behind her.

* * *

"I just don't get it," Katara sighed, picking at her food in the dining hall. "Why would he kiss me if he wasn't interested?"

"Because boys suck," Ty Lee answered. "One of the many reasons why I'm into girls." She smiled as she rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

Mai put her arm around the chipper brunette. "He's not worth your time."

"I know." Katara sulked. "I just really thought we had something. And he was just _so_ hot."

Azula fought the urge to roll her eyes. Katara's whining was really getting under her skin. "He's an insufferable imbecile." Azula took a sip of her drink. "I can't believe my stupid brother is hooking up with him, ugh."

"Wait…" Ty Lee picked up her head. "Isn't that him over there?"

"Where?!" Katara's blue eyes darted around the cafeteria.

"With the hairnet on? Clearing the trays from the tables?" Ty Lee nudged her head to her right.

Azula saw him and laughed haughtily. "He does work-study? How pathetic."

"Not everyone can afford to be here, Azula," Mai said derisively.

"I bet he'd be kicked out of work-study if they knew he tried to spike the punchbowl," Katara sneered.

"I like the way you think," Azula commended, "but… how about _we_ have a little fun with him instead?" The firebender knew exactly what to do. She left the table to go to the soda fountain, promptly returning with a plastic glass of cranberry juice. She set the drink down on her lunch tray. "Hand me that pamphlet, will you?"

Ty Lee reached for the folded cardboard pamphlet to her left. "From farm to table…" she read. "Since when are you interested in green living?"

"I'm not." Azula snatched the cardboard from her roommate's hand and placed it on top of the cranberry juice. She proceeded to flip the glass upside-down and set it down carefully on her tray. Then she slowly pulled the cardboard out from under it. "Voila!"

Ty Lee cocked her head to the side, examining the upside-down glass of red juice. "I don't get it…"

"When Jet comes to clean up the tray, he's going to have to pick up the glass, making a huge mess he'll have to clean up," Mai explained.

"Precisely," Azula smirked. She couldn't wait to see the look on Jet's face.

"Normally I'd say that's too mean, but…" Katara smiled meekly, "this is Jet we're dealing with."

"Let's get headed out so we can watch," Azula insisted, grabbing her purse.

Upon seeing the girls leave the table, Jet walked over to clean up the trays. He stacked three of the trays together, consolidating the plates and glasses, but then he got to Azula's. He was just about to pick up her glass when he noticed what she had done. "Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me!"

"Is something the matter?" Azula purred from behind him.

"What is _wrong_ with you?! This isn't funny."

"I wholeheartedly disagree."

"Just get out of my way," he growled, grabbing her tray cautiously to bring it over to the sink.

The girls watched as his deliberate, angry gait caused the glass to topple over and the juice to spill all over himself and the floor.

"Great, just fucking great," Jet muttered.

"I told you to watch your back," Azula jeered on her way out of the dining hall.

"You'll pay for this."

"Is that a threat?"

"No." Jet's warm brown eyes flashed with malice. "It's a promise."

* * *

Zuko could sense something was off. Usually Jet was really into their make out sessions, but this time he seemed… distracted. "Hey," he whispered between kisses, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Jet kissed him aggressively, tugging at Zuko's shirt.

"You seem upset."

Jet sighed and rolled off Zuko onto his back.

"Is it because of what happened in the dining hall?"

"Your sister is such a bitch," Jet spat.

"Yeah. I know." Zuko gave him a sympathetic look. "So… do you know how you're going to get her back?"

"No. Not yet." He smiled halfheartedly. "But something will come to me. It always does."

As if on cue, Sokka opened the door and stepped into the room, looking exasperated.

"What's going on with you?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sokka closed the door and leaned his back up against it. "I… I did something bad."

Zuko and Jet waited for him to elaborate.

"I… clogged the toilet."

"So?" Jet asked.

Zuko shrugged.

"I thought I could fix it, but… I only made things worse. The bathroom's completely flooded with poo water!"

Jet snickered.

"Can't you just call maintenance or something?!" Zuko cried.

"I'm too embarrassed." Sokka bent his knees and melted to the floor.

"Don't worry," Jet smirked. "I've got this."

Zuko could tell Jet was up to no good but decided to keep quiet.

* * *

_Later that night…_

Ty Lee finished washing her face, looked up into the mirror, and shrieked.

Azula spat out her toothpaste before she was finished brushing her teeth. "What the hell do you _boys_ think you're doing in the women's room?!"

"Our bathroom's flooded," a handsome yellow-eyed sophomore answered. "Someone named Azula did it."

Azula's face twisted. "Excuse me?!"

"But… _she's _Azula," Ty Lee said in confusion, "and she's never been in the – "

"_You're_ Azula?" a muscular, jock-type asked.

"Yes, what of it?"

"Then you should already know," he burst out laughing. "You're the one who clogged the toilet."

"I most certainly did not!" Azula barked before grabbing her toiletries and leaving the bathroom. She was going to get to the bottom of this. With Ty Lee trailing behind her, she marched up to the men's room. Sure enough, the floor was wet. And there was a sign on the door.

"Oh no…" Ty Lee covered her mouth with her hands, looking at her roommate with panic in her gray eyes.

Azula stared at the sign, nearly foaming at the mouth. It read: "I pooped so big it wouldn't even flush. Sorry, not sorry, Azula." She ripped the sign off the door and crumpled it between her white-knuckled hands. "DAMN HIM!" She could kill Jet, that scheming, cocky bastard.

"Azula," Ty Lee squeaked timidly, "I'm sure no one believes you could have possibly – "

"This. Means. War."


	3. Pain & Healing

**Pain/Healing**

Sokka was studying in the dorm common lounge, well, _trying_ to study, when something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He watched Azula cross over to the boys' wing, walk up to Jet's room, and knock on the door. Knowing full well that Jet wasn't in his room and therefore unable to open the door, Sokka shook his head with frustration. Jet was currently in _his_ room, doing Spirits-know-what with Zuko under the covers. Sokka didn't want to think about it. Every time he thought about Jet touching Zuko, it made his stomach churn. Maybe _that's_ why he had clogged the toilet the other day…

Azula knocked on the door a little more forcefully before Sokka decided to intervene.

"He's not there," Sokka said, leaning back in his chair and peeking his head into the hallway.

The firebender walked over to him, taking a seat next to him at the wooden table. "Let me guess… he's in _your_ room?" Her voice dropped. "With Zuzu."

"You know it."

"You don't have to put up with being sexiled, you know. You _can_ put your foot down…"

"I know, but Zuko was really understanding when I had Suki over all the time last year. He always gave us our privacy, so I want to do the same for him, but…" Sokka sighed.

"You can't stand Jet?" Azula finished for him.

"Yeah!" Finally, _someone_ understood him.

"What he did to your sister was distasteful, but I think she's over it now. She hasn't complained about him a while – "

"It's not just that. Jet's just… he's not good for Zuko."

"Well obviously."

"Zuko wants more than a hookup buddy, but Jet won't give him that sort of commitment. And Zuko doesn't realize how miserable he is because he's getting some." Sokka bit down on his lip in anger.

"Zuzu will wise up eventually." She looked into his eyes, giving him an intense stare like she was trying to read his mind. "You seem overly frustrated by all of this."

"Well I hate being kicked out of my room," he scoffed. "It's hard to study out here."

Azula shrugged. "You could always study in _my_ room," she purred, feigning innocence.

"Is it quiet in there?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact my roommate is at cheerleading practice right now so we'd have the room all to ourselves…"

"Oh," Sokka said with intrigue. Was he really picking up what she was putting down, or was he reading too much into it?

She smirked. "Well, you know where to find me if you decide you'd like some company."

He watched her walk back toward the girls' wing, enjoying the slow sway of her hips. Should he really take her up on it? She _was_ his best friend's sister, but… she was also smoking hot. And Sokka sure was frustrated. Maybe relieving some of his frustration would be the key to a successful study session. Okay. He was going to go for it. He walked to her room and knocked on the door, swallowing hard with nervous excitement.

She opened the door wearing a silk, burgundy robe, looking up at him with mischief in her yellow eyes. "What took you so long?"

He grinned, his heartrate steadily climbing. "So just to make things perfectly clear, you want to _study _study, not actually study, right?"

She laughed. "You're cute when you're nervous. But let me also make things perfectly clear." She paused. "_This_ is only going to happen once, got it?"

"Got it," he smiled. "Then let's make the most of it, shall we?"

She nodded, biting her lip seductively.

The naughty gleam in her eyes was driving him wild. He closed the distance between them, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her ravenously.

* * *

Although Sokka liked to cuddle after sex, and Azula was having absolutely none of that, there was something oddly comforting about sleeping with Azula, something almost familiar, like he'd known her for years. Sokka smiled warmly at the slightly sweaty naked girl lying next to him beneath the sheets. Her golden eyes captivated him. She looked so much like Zuko, it was uncanny. And a little bit unsettling… why was he thinking about Zuko right now anyway?

"What?" she asked, smiling hazily. "You're looking at me all soft."

"Sorry," he chuckled, brushing some hair out of his face. "Are you _sure_ this can't happen again?"

"Yes."

Sokka would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed.

"I have certain things I'd like to accomplish while I'm here, certain goals, and I can't have a boyfriend or anything serious getting in my way."

"Who says we need to have anything serious?" Sokka would have been fine just having her as a fuck buddy.

"Look. This was fun. Really. But… you just seem like the type to get attached easily."

His eyes widened with disbelief. Her intuition was spot on.

"Tell me I'm wrong," she challenged.

"You're not wrong," he laughed.

She smiled at him before getting out of bed and slipping into some cute pajama pants.

"So that's that, huh?" he asked, starting to dress himself.

"That's that." She threw on a matching cotton shirt.

"I guess I'll go back to studying…" Sokka actually did feel like he had a clearer head.

"Well, I need to study too, so I guess you could stay here if you'd like. _If_ you're quiet."

"I'll be as quiet as a mouse-bat."

Azula sat at her desk to study while Sokka studied on her bed. At some point Ty Lee came back from cheerleading practice and joined the study party, unaware of the naked transgressions that had gone on earlier. And then it started getting late.

"I think I'm gonna head out," Sokka said before yawning. "Though I'm really not looking forward to kicking Jet out of my room…"

"Oh, I'll take care of that." Azula happily stood from her desk. "Let's go."

Sokka followed the firebender to his room. He flinched when she banged on the door loudly.

It took a moment, but a groggy, shirtless Zuko eventually answered.

Sokka's gut twisted as he noticed Zuko's disheveled hair.

"What?" Zuko wasn't happy to see his sister.

"It's late. Sokka wants to go to bed."

Jet looked over at the alarm clock on Zuko's nightstand. "It _is _late. Whoops." He smirked. "Time flies." He put on his shirt and crossed the room to leave.

"Good night," Zuko hummed.

Sokka could tell his roommate was looking for some sort of goodnight kiss or at least a hug, but he was definitely not going to get anything along those lines.

"Good night." Jet gave Zuko a wink on his way out.

While Jet was wishing Zuko a good night, Azula snapped a photo of him midsentence, making sure the flash was nice and bright.

Jet blinked. "Did you just take a photo of me?"

"Perhaps."

"Why…?"

"Don't worry about it."

Jet glared at her.

"Sleep well," she sang with a wicked smile.

Maybe Zuko was right, maybe Azula was a bit of a demon, but Sokka truly enjoyed her company nonetheless.

* * *

It didn't take long before Jet discovered why Azula had snapped a photo of him. He returned to the dorm after class to find a poster of his face bordered by the giant, capitalized words: "GENITAL HERPES". The photo couldn't have been more unflattering too. "Azula," he muttered under his breath, ripping the poster off the wall. In a way he was disappointed with how tame her prank was. But then he realized other students were staring at him. Some were snickering; others were looking at him with disgust. That's when he noticed that there were dozens, maybe a hundred of these posters plastered all over the dorm. His hands balled into fists. Azula was such a Spirits-damn bitch. Oh boy was he gonna get her back. He was gonna get her back good.

Jet enlisted the help of his roommate, Sneers, and Zuko to tear down all the distasteful posters. One by one, the posters came down. Jet was fuming the entire time, letting his rage fuel his vengeful thoughts. Just as the blueprints for his retribution were forming in his head, he heard the bitch herself ask him a question.

"Wow, you're not even going to recycle?" she asked rhetorically, straightening out one of the crumpled posters from the garbage can. "That's a bit wasteful, don't you think?"

"It was a bit wasteful when you decided to print all these posters out, don't _you_ think?"

"I suppose. It took up nearly my entire print quota for the semester too."

That really pissed Jet off. Money meant absolutely nothing to her. He had to work hard for everything in his life, and she was just given everything without lifting a finger.

"But I guess you can say we're even now, yes?"

"In what world are we _even_?" he spat.

"You damaged my reputation as a nameless freshman, so I damaged yours."

"Ummm… I think telling everyone I have genital herpes is a bit different from letting people think you clogged a toilet."

"Well, it shouldn't matter if people think you have genital herpes as long as Zuzu doesn't believe it, that is, if my dear brother is in fact your one and only fuck buddy." She stared straight into his eyes. "Which he is, is he not?"

He met her intense stare. "My sex life is none of your business."

"No, I suppose it's not." She smiled up at him. "Well, carry on then."

He shook his head and went back to ripping the posters off the wall. To his surprise, he watched Azula dig through the trash bins, collecting the discarded papers and placing them in the recycling bin. She was a weird one all right.

* * *

Azula was feeling pretty good. She was acing all her classes, staying in tiptop shape, and even had a somewhat active social life. Sleeping with Sokka had been fun too. Part of her wanted to have him again, but she knew better. Not only would he surely get attached, but Zuko might actually kill her too. She knew from the way Zuko talked about Sokka that her brother was madly in love with the blue-eyed sophomore. And as much as she enjoyed pissing off her brother, she wouldn't actively try to steal the boy he liked. But then again, maybe Zuko was actually getting over Sokka. He was spending an awfully good amount of time with Jet, though she couldn't understand why.

She smiled, thinking about her prank on Jet as she rinsed the conditioner out of her hair. Upon finishing her shower, she reached a hand outside the steamy stall to grab her towel on the hook, but something was wrong. Her towel wasn't there. Maybe it fell? She pulled the curtain aside to find that not only was her towel missing, but her bathrobe was gone too. _And her room key!_ "Jet," she mentally cursed. Was he really going to make her run completely naked through the dorm?!

As it turned out, he was slightly more considerate than that. On the bench where her bathrobe would have been lay some sort of costume. On further inspection, it was a onesie of a fire ferret. She rolled her eyes and put on the onesie, dreading the prospect of being seen in it. She wiped some steam from the bathroom mirror and looked at her reflection. Damn. She looked adorable. Adorable and not scary or threatening at all. Whatever. She couldn't spend the rest of her life hiding in the bathroom. She grabbed her toiletries, took a deep breath, and entered the hallway.

"Yeah, yeah. Take a good look," she said dismissively as her fellow peers stared and laughed at her. She felt her cheeks redden. How humiliating. How was she supposed to dominate BSSU now? Sure enough, she found Jet outside his bedroom waiting for her with the rest of her belongings.

"Smile for the camera, cutie pie," he mocked, pulling out his phone.

She sneered and flipped him off as he took her photo.

"Adorable," he teased, "just adorable."

"You're an asshole." She grabbed her robe and key from him and marched back across the dorm to her room.

"Cute onesie!" Ty Lee shouted. She was cuddling with Mai on her bed.

"I don't want to hear it." She sighed with frustration as she plunked down at her desk.

"Rough day?" Mai asked.

"Jet made me walk through the entire dorm like this! My reputation at this school is completely ruined."

"Oh come on, it's not so bad," Ty Lee tried to comfort. "You look super cute."

"I don't want to be cute, I want to be _feared_! Ugh!"

Mai and Ty Lee exchanged awkward glances.

Just then, Azula received a text message. She didn't recognize the number, but it was obvious who sent it. The text read: "Check out my new wallpaper!" The photo of her flipping Jet off in the onesie appeared under the text. "Fuck him!" she screamed, throwing her phone onto her mattress. "He's going to pay big time. When I get him back, he's going to wish he'd never been born!"

"Maybe let's try taking a step back," Ty Lee meekly suggested.

"No. I'm going to make that cocky bastard suffer."

"No offense, Azula, but you seem a bit… obsessed with Jet," Mai spoke candidly, "like more obsessed than Katara was."

"Yeah, maybe I am obsessed. Obsessed with revenge."

"Whatever you say."

As Azula's head began plotting something devious, her impeccable hearing picked up on Ty Lee whispering to Mai, "I think she likes him."


	4. Free Day

**Free Day**

Sokka's head just wasn't in the game. Not with Jet's hand on Zuko's knee, not with their flirtatious glances, not with them sitting practically on top of each other while Sokka sat once again isolated to the side of the room. Alone. Zuko had _promised_ him they'd spend National Tea Appreciation Day together, like they did last year. The boys had been looking forward to it since the semester started. Not only was it a free day off of school, but it also marked the beginning of a long weekend. Technically Zuko was keeping his promise, he _was_ playing Super Pro-Benders Brawl with him, but it just wasn't the same with Jet there.

Sokka wanted to leave, to remove himself from the room where he felt so lonely and neglected, but he also didn't want to leave Zuko and Jet alone so they could hook up. He just felt… trapped. But he was playing like crap, and it was clear Zuko and Jet were more interested in each other than in the game, so once the sexual tension became too suffocating, Sokka decided to go seek out the one person he knew would understand.

He knocked on Azula's door.

"Door's open," she called.

He walked inside. "Whatcha up to?"

She was hunched over her desk reading a textbook. "What does it look like?"

It was clear she was busy studying. "Want to take a study break?"

"No. I'm using the long weekend to get ahead. There can only be one valedictorian, you know."

"I get it." Great. Rejected again.

Azula sighed, turning around to face him. "Zuko didn't kick you out of his room again, did he?"

"No, I left on my own. I could tell they wanted some alone time…"

She smirked. "Well, you don't have to worry about them getting very far. In fact, you should have Zuko all to yourself very shortly."

Feeling hopeful for the first time in a while, his heart skipped a beat. "And why is that?"

"Because… my next prank is fully in effect."

* * *

Dressed down to their boxers, Jet lay on top of Zuko, kissing him fervently and slowly pressing his hips into the other boy's, his excitement growing with every roll of his pelvis.

"Maybe you should get a condom," Zuko whispered into Jet's ear, his breath hot and ragged.

"I thought you'd never ask," Jet smirked, sitting up to grab his wallet from his jeans' pocket. He opened the wallet, reached into the pouch where he always kept a condom, but instead of finding the prophylactic, he pulled out something else in its stead. "What the hell?!" It was the photo he had taken of Azula flipping him off while wearing the fire ferret onesie. "Son of a bitch!"

Zuko tried to muster a laugh to diffuse the situation. "Hey th-that's okay, we can just do something else – "

"Don't you have any condoms?"

"No, sorry…"

"It's okay." Jet sighed, standing up and putting his pants back on. "I have some more in my room. Be back in a sec." He crossed the hallway to go to his room, but when he tried to open the door, he couldn't get a handle on the grip. His hand slipped right off. And it was wet! He tried again with his other hand, but the same thing happened. The door handle was completely slick with some sort of oil. _Lube_. "ARGH!" he shouted, wiping some lube off his hands onto his pants. He reached for the handle with both his hands, using his whole bodyweight to apply some torque, but he ended up slipping off the handle and falling onto his ass. Thankfully nobody saw that. He got up, brushed himself off, and started banging on the door, imagining wringing Azula's pretty little neck. "Sneers, are you there?! Open up!"

Sneers let him in. "Are you okay? I'm, uh, kinda busy…"

There was a girl on Sneers' bed. That's right, he had recently started seeing a girl named Kori. Jet shook his head. "Our door handle's completely covered in lube! Didn't you hear something?"

Sneers and Kori exchanged puzzles glances and shrugged.

"Okay, well," Jet groaned, "just let me get out of your hair." He grabbed his box of condoms and left for Zuko's room.

"You came prepared," Zuko chuckled, seeing the entire box.

"I sure did. Now, where were we?" He smiled mischievously as he reached into the box. However, much to his chagrin, he pulled out yet another photo of Azula. And then another. And then another. In a state of rage, he flipped the box upside down and shook it violently. There were maybe three dozen photos of Azula but not a single condom. "FUCK HER! Your Spirits-damn sister took all my fucking condoms!"

"Jet," Zuko breathed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's just a prank – "

"How did she get into my room?! Ugh, that idiot Sneers must have let her in." He stood up and put his shirt back on. "I'm gonna kill your sister. I'm actually going to kill her."

"Hm, and here I thought _I'd_ be the one to kill her after all these years…"

"I'm going to put an end to this prank war once and for all." Beyond frustrated, Jet left to go confront Azula.

* * *

The loud booming knocks at her door didn't faze Azula at all. She had been expecting a little visit from Jet. Right on schedule.

"I know you're in there! Open up!"

She could tell Jet was pissed. Good. She opened the door, looking up at Jet with disgust. "What do _you_ want?"

"You know exactly what I want. Give them back."

"You're going to have to be more specific – "

"Don't play dumb, Azula," Jet spat. "The condoms. Give them back."

"What, the photos of me didn't do it for you?" she teased. "I figured since you made me your wallpaper…"

"This has gone too far. You _broke_ into my room for crying out loud!"

"Actually your roommate let me in – "

"Ugh, I knew it – "

"You had it coming." She stared up into his fiery brown eyes. "You had it coming for toying with my brother's feelings and for ruining my reputation."

"Yeah? Well you ruined mine too!"

"You did that to yourself by being a scheming, conniving fuckboy who only cares about himself!"

"Is _that_ what you think of me?" he questioned.

"Oh, and arrogant too – "

"Well you know what _I _think?" He took a step forward, getting right into her face. "I think you're a manipulative, spoiled, pampered _princess_ who thrives off other people's misery!"

"Well if _that's_ what you really think of me, I'm going to have to kindly ask you to get the fuck out of my room." She was about to slam the door on him when he stopped her.

"One more thing," he snarled, stealing a glance around her bedroom. "Where's your roommate?"

Azula raised an eyebrow. Why was he asking about Ty Lee? "What, you want to fuck her too? Because I've got news for you, she doesn't swing that way – "

"She's hardly my type either."

"Well if you really must know, one of Ty's six million sisters is having a dance recital, so she went home for the long weekend to support her."

"Oh." Jet smirked and furtively looked behind him to see if the hallway was clear. "So… is _this_ gonna happen or what?"

* * *

Zuko had just finished redressing when Sokka came back into the room. Though he was feeling quite gloomy since Jet left in such a fury, he was really happy to see his blue-eyed friend.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Sokka asked, concerned. "I just saw Jet storm off…"

"Yeah. Azula's prank went a little too far this time."

"Cockblocked by your sister once again, eh?" Sokka joked.

Zuko chuckled. "I just wish that Jet cared about me as much as he cared about revenge. Or sex." He sighed dramatically and slumped down into the beanbag chair.

"Have you actually had a real conversation with him about your relationship?"

"Yeah, kind of. He knows I want to be more than friends, but he made it abundantly clear he doesn't want to be anyone's boyfriend." He shrugged. "That's just gonna have to be good enough, I guess."

Sokka sat down on the beanbag chair next to him. "No, that doesn't have to be good enough." He put his hand on Zuko's back. "You deserve to have somebody love you, you know."

Zuko's heart was beating so fast. Maybe hooking up with Jet wasn't the smartest decision, but it _was_ helping him get over Sokka. Or so he thought. He looked into Sokka's sea blue eyes. "I… I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Okay. Then what do you want to do?"

_"You,"_ he thought, instantly getting angry at himself for still thinking of Sokka in this way, knowing full well that he didn't have a chance. "I don't know. Why don't we just watch a bad movie or something?"

"Oh, then have _I_ got the perfect movie for you." Sokka got up from the chair to rummage through his DVDs. "Look what just came out on Blu-Ray." He pulled a DVD from the shelf and held it out in front of Zuko.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep!" Receiving a whopping 26% on Rotten Cabbages, Sokka held the famous cult-classic, _The Great Divide_, in his hand.

"I have never been more excited to watch anything in my entire life."

Sokka dimmed the lights and the movie commenced.

* * *

"Fine," Azula sighed after a long pause, rolling her eyes. "Get in."

Jet bit his lip as he closed the door behind him.

"But for the record, you repulse me."

"The feeling's mutual," he chuckled before kissing her roughly on the mouth. He could feel her body melting at his touch.

She slipped her tongue into his mouth, running a hand up through his hair and tugging not-so-gently.

She was a feisty one. Jet liked that. He couldn't wait to show her how much he loathed her. With their lips locked, he turned her around and pushed her up against the door.

Azula wrapped a leg around him and pulled him even closer.

This was going to be a fun night after all.

* * *

Zuko could barely concentrate on the movie. The lights were low and Sokka was sitting so close to him. He smelled good too, oh why did Sokka have to smell so good? Life was unfair. Why did a genuinely good guy like Sokka have to be straight? Well, Zuko always assumed Sokka was straight anyway, based off his dating history. But maybe he just never considered being with another boy? Or maybe Sokka wasn't straight, and that would be even worse because that would mean he just never considered Zuko. He wondered how Sokka would react if he made a move. He wanted to touch Sokka's hand, the hand that was so torturously close to his own. He wanted to know how Sokka's lips would feel against his own. It was a curse to feel this way about his best friend. Why wouldn't these feelings just disappear? He was tired. Tired of these feelings and tired of imagining. Honestly, he was just tired of this whole day. His eyes grew heavy, and soon, the movie faded from his vision.

* * *

Jet sighed a breath of relief. "Hey, let me ask you something." He rolled to his side and gave Azula a smug look. "Was that the best you've ever had, or what?"

"Let me ask _you_ something." She smiled at him, but not sweetly. "Why are you still here?"

"Oh, so _that's_ how it's gonna be," he laughed.

"What, did you want to cuddle or something?" she asked sarcastically. She certainly didn't do the cuddling after sex thing and couldn't imagine Jet would be into that either.

"Are you kidding me? I _love_ cuddling," he said mockingly.

"Liar."

He laughed and started collecting his clothes from the floor.

"By the way, _this_ isn't going to happen again."

"Who's the liar now?"

"I mean it, Jet."

"Please. We both know that you're gonna be begging me for more."

"You wish," Azula groaned, rolling her eyes. Jet was so freaking cocky. She wanted to wipe that pompous smirk right off his face.

He winked at her. "Good night, _princess_." He straightened out his clothes and left the room.

Azula stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling as she replayed everything that just happened in her head. She had a feeling Jet would confront her, but she never expected anything like _this_ to happen. And it was… _hot_. And curse him, she _did_ want him again. Well, she certainly hadn't changed her mind about not wanting a boyfriend, but maybe she _could_ sleep with Jet again. She wouldn't have to worry about him getting attached to her after all. Maybe Jet could be an exception to her self-implemented one-night stand rule.

She rolled to her side, hugging the pillow Jet's head was touching. It was still warm, and it smelled like him. She closed her eyes and smiled.

* * *

"Zuko?" Sokka whispered, feeling the heavy weight of his roommate's head on his shoulder. "Are you asleep?" Zuko was definitely asleep. Sokka laughed quietly to himself. This wasn't the first time Zuko had fallen asleep during a movie. Sitting a bit uncomfortably, he slid a little bit away from him, letting Zuko's head fall softly onto his leg.

The firebender repositioned in his sleep, wrapping an arm around Sokka's leg.

Sokka looked down at his sleeping friend when a strange sensation swept over him. For some reason, he had the urge to stroke his black hair. Zuko was just so cute when he was sleeping so peacefully. Had Sokka's loneliness really reached a new level? Or was it something else? Maybe he just really missed his pet koala-cat. Yeah, it must have been that. Sokka smiled. He finished the rest of the movie, careful not to disturb his sleeping friend. Even though Zuko missed the last third of the movie, Sokka was still happy to spend National Tea Appreciation Day the way he had imagined, hanging out with his best friend.


	5. Family

**Author's Note:** I switched the Day 5 and Day 6 prompts (Mythology and Family) to better fit my story.

* * *

**Family**

"Knock knock," Azula sang, casually barging into Zuko and Sokka's room. Her face immediately fell. "Oh, it's _you_."

Spirits damn it, Zuko really needed to get in the habit of keeping the door locked.

"Where's Sokka?"

"Nice to see you too, sis," he said sarcastically.

"I can take a hint," she groaned, ready to escort herself out.

"Wait. Why are you looking for Sokka?"

"He's my study buddy. We help each other stay focused."

"Oh." Sokka and Azula were friends? Since when? Zuko had very mixed feelings about this. "You just missed him. Katara came by to grab a coffee with him."

"Why would she do that?"

"Believe it or not, some siblings actually like to spend time together…"

"Hm." Azula crossed the room and took a seat on Zuko's bed.

"What are you doing?" He really wasn't in the mood for her shenanigans.

"If Sokka and Katara are out having some sibling bonding, then we should too. In fact, we should bond even better and stronger than them, putting their bonding to shame."

Zuko smiled, shaking his head. Oh, Azula. "I'll make some tea."

* * *

"Mmmmm, this really hits the spot." Sokka wiped some foam from his vanilla latte onto the back of his hand. There was nothing quite like a hot drink on a cold day. "So, why the spontaneous urge for coffee? Wait, don't tell me. You just really missed your big brother, now didn't you."

"Of course I missed you," Katara laughed. "We've barely hung out since the semester started." She fidgeted with the sleeve on her coffee cup. "I guess it doesn't really help that your ex is my sociology TA. And we're kind of friends…"

"Yeah…" Sokka hadn't thought about his ex in quite some time. "How is Suki by the way?"

"Oh, she's good! Really good. Though she may be a bit overextended."

Sokka nodded. That was the biggest reason why she had broken up with him over the summer. She had found out that not only was she going to be a TA, but she also made captain of the drill team. She simply didn't have time for a boyfriend if she wanted to maintain a competitive GPA. "Is she… seeing anyone?"

"No, not as far as I know."

Good. At least she had been honest with him. "And what about you? Are you over the whole Jet thing?" Not that he really wanted to know about his sister's love life.

"Oh yeah, that's old news." Katara took a sip of her caramel macchiato. "I've just been focusing on school and making new friends, but hey who knows, maybe I'll meet someone I like next year."

"You're a much smarter freshman than I was," Sokka chuckled.

Katara smiled, but then she looked down at her cup. "How _are_ things going for you this year?"

Sokka could tell by her tone that she was somewhat concerned about him. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, you just seem… a little on edge lately."

"I – " Was it really that obvious? "It's been a strange semester…"

"Have your grades improved? Have you been keeping up with your 'no girls' resolution?"

"Grades are good, though they could be better, but at least I'm not at risk of losing my scholarship anymore. And yes, I have been following through on that, well…" He wasn't sure how much he was really willing to divulge, but part of him did want to get something off his chest. "…for the most part."

"Sokka…" Katara was glaring at him judgmentally.

"I sorta kinda… hooked up with Azula."

"You WHAT?! Ew, why would you do that?!"

"Have you _seen_ her?"

"She's your best friend's _sister_!"

"I know, I know." Sokka sighed.

"Does Zuko even know?"

"You know, I can't seem to recall telling him about that. Must have slipped my mind. Weird."

"Sokka!"

"I don't want Zuko to hate me, okay? It was just a one time thing anyway, it's _not_ gonna happen again."

"It better not." Katara took a deep breath. "So… was it – oh, never mind, why am I even asking."

"What?"

"I don't know." She lowered her voice. "Was she… scary?"

"No, no, well… yeah, maybe a little."

Katara laughed. "You're hopeless you know."

"I know."

* * *

"That's quite the collection you've got there," Azula said upon seeing Zuko's entire drawer dedicated to assorted teas. "I didn't realize you were such an avid tea drinker."

"Uncle sent them to me." Zuko placed two mugs on his desk.

"Really?" she asked bitterly. "The only thing Uncle sent me was a stuffed badgermole wearing a BSSU sweater." The badgermole was actually quite cute.

"He never really got your taste." The electric kettle clicked. "Jasmine okay?"

"Sure."

Zuko poured the boiling hot water into the mugs and set the jasmine tealeaves inside strainers to steep. He handed Azula her mug.

"Thanks." She looked awkwardly from side to side. "Now what?"

"Now we wait for it to steep…"

"No, you idiot, I mean how does this sibling bonding thing work?"

"Well, you could start by dropping the insults."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

He smiled. "Well… how do you normally bond with your friends?"

"Let's see… well I usually ask them questions about their life – "

"That's a good start – "

"And then I learn about their fears and insecurities and use them to my advantage."

His face fell. "I – well that's not – "

"I'm joking." She was only half joking.

"It's hard to tell with you."

She grinned.

"Okay, well, let me start." He sat down next to her on his bed, carefully so the tea would not spill. "How are you liking college so far?"

"I _love_ it, though I wish my classes were a bit more challenging…"

Zuko clenched his jaw.

"…but I'm getting straight As, I've made lots of friends, I've been getting up early every day to practice my firebending katas so I can try out for a pro-bending team next semester – "

"No freshman has ever made a pro-bending team – "

"_This_ freshman will," she smiled confidently. "Oh, _and_ my skin is clear and flawless – "

"So basically everything is going great for you, as usual," Zuko interrupted.

"You know it." It was a good thing Zuko stopped her, giving her a chance to take the spotlight off herself. There was no way in hell she was going to tell him about Jet or Sokka. "So how's everything with you? How are things with… Jet?"

"Good. He makes me really happy."

She lowered her eyes at him, not believing him for a second. "Does he now?"

"No." He sighed dramatically. "I just want _more_. I want a boyfriend. And I know it's not personal, Jet will never be anyone's boyfriend, but – "

Azula's stomach knotted. Why did the notion of Jet never being anyone's boyfriend make her feel like this? Ugh. She hated herself for feeling this way.

" – I don't know, I guess I was just hoping he'd change his mind."

"Zuko…"

"It's not all bad though! The sex is good, _really_ good – "

"Spare me the details, brother."

"Sorry." He shifted nervously. "The tea's probably ready." He collected their strainers and set them aside.

"Have you considered putting yourself out there? I'm sure there are other sophomores looking for boyfriends…"

"Yeah, I've thought about it, but – "

"You feel like you don't deserve a boyfriend," she finished for him.

"No! That's not what I was thinking at all! Do you think I don't deserve a boyfriend?" he asked indignantly.

"No, you do, you definitely do." Whoops.

"What I was going to say was that something is holding me back."

"It's _him_," she said without missing a beat. "It's Sokka."

"How… how did you know?"

"Are you kidding?" she laughed. "You talked about him nonstop all summer, and every time you said his name, your eyes lit up. And also I went through your phone and read all your text messages."

"WHAT?!"

"So it's painfully obvious you're in love with him."

"You went through my phone?! How did you figure out my password?!"

Ah, so he wasn't going to let this go. "Well, it wasn't one-one-one-one or your birthday, so it had to be three-four-seven-three. Fire."

"Spirits help me." He set his tea down on his nightstand so he could massage his temples.

"So you're in love with Sokka. Have you ever considered telling him how you feel?"

"No! That would be like the world's worst idea. He's straight."

She nodded. "Yeah, he's straight." Azula thought about the night she and Sokka had hooked up, and he certainly _seemed_ straight. She needed to change the subject. "Well, even if he is straight, that doesn't mean that you should be with Jet."

"What would you do if you were in my position?"

"What, a bottom I take it?" she asked facetiously.

"Azula…"

She sighed. "If I were you… I would probably keep sleeping with Jet." She answered honestly.

"Then that tells me that I should probably call things off with him," he teased.

She playfully smacked him on the arm.

"But, ugh, I really don't want to call things off," he sulked. "The sex is _really_ good – "

"Okay, that's enough sibling bonding for me for one day." She finished the last sip of her tea and set down her mug. "Thanks for the tea." She started for the door.

"Hey, Azula?" he asked just as she was about to leave.

She stopped.

"This was nice."

She turned to him and smirked. "If you say so." She walked out of his room, smiling softly. Yes. It was nice.

* * *

"I'm a little afraid to ask, but are there any other big secrets you've been keeping to yourself?" Katara asked.

"Nope, that's about it," Sokka answered, shrugging. "It's really been a boring, uneventful semester."

"Then why have you been so aloof and short-tempered lately?"

"I don't know… I guess I'm just frustrated that Jet is _always_ in my room."

"Don't they ever go to Jet's room to… hang out?"

"Sometimes, but Jet's roommate has a girlfriend, so their room is usually occupied." Sokka frowned, staring down at his drink. "I guess it's easy to get rid of me because I'm single."

"I really think you should talk to Zuko about how you feel – "

"And what am I supposed to tell him exactly?" Sokka snapped. "That he can't have his boy toy over? That I can't stand Jet and kind of hate Zuko too right now for abandoning me this semester? Is _that_ what I'm supposed to tell him?" Wow. Sokka even surprised himself with his outburst. He must have been bottling this up for some time.

"Sokka, I – I had no idea – "

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice. You're just trying to help."

"It's okay." She paused, biting her lip awkwardly. "Sokka, can I be really honest with you?"

"Of course."

She took a deep breath. "Have you ever considered that maybe you're… you're _jealous_ of Jet?"

"_Me_ jealous of _Jet_?!" he laughed dismissively. "Why would _I _ever be jealous of someone like _him_?"

"Well, because Zuko – "

"What are you trying to say, Katara? Do you think I have feelings for Zuko or something?! Because that's… that's… that's crazy!"

"That's… not what I was going to say." She was starting to get annoyed. "If you'd let me finish, I was going to say that maybe you're jealous of Jet because Zuko's spending all his time with him and not you. Maybe you just miss the attention he used to give you last year, and now he's giving that attention to someone else."

"I don't _need_ Zuko. I have plenty of other friends – "

"I think you do though. I can tell by the way you talk about him that Zuko's more than a friend to you, he's your _best_ friend. You have an undeniable bond, you couldn't wait to get back to school to see him – "

"It sounds like you're trying to tell me I'm into him or something!"

"I know you're not into boys, but why are you saying it like that's such a bad thing!" Katara yelled. "You know what? Maybe you're not jealous. Maybe you don't like Jet being with Zuko because you're a homophobe."

"Are you kidding me right now?! I've _never_ been a homophobe."

"Then quit acting like one!"

The Water siblings glared at each other in silence.

Being the older sibling, Sokka decided to be the bigger person. He got up from the table. "I'm going to leave before I say something I regret."

Katara nodded. "I know you're mad at me, and I'm a little mad at you too, but I still love you."

"I am mad at you, but I still love you too." Sokka left the café and stormed back to his room.

* * *

Boy, oh boy, did Sokka need some alone time to sort his racing thoughts. Unfortunately, it seemed he wasn't going to get what he needed.

"Hey… are you okay?" Zuko asked, clearly worried.

Sokka must have looked like hell. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine to me…"

"Okay, you know what? No, I'm not fine. I'm pissed."

"Did something happen with Katara?"

"Yeah, I'm mad at her, but… I'm mad at you too."

"Why?" Zuko looked hurt. "What did I do?"

"I hate Jet being in our room all the time! I feel like I'm never welcome here anymore, that you two would rather be alone than hang out with me." It looked like this fight was going to happen once and for all.

"That's not fair, you had Suki here all the time last year and I never complained once."

"Yeah, but at least Suki was a tolerable human being."

"What are you saying, Sokka?"

"You know what I'm saying – "

"Then just say it!"

"I HATE JET!" Sokka screamed. "He's a manipulative, fake charming, selfish, conceited asshole who's just using you and I don't get why you choose to spend all your time with someone like that!"

"First of all, you never even _tried_ to get to know him – you hated him from the get-go! The three of us could all hang out together but _you_ choose to isolate yourself!" Zuko shouted back. "And you don't think I know he's just using me? Of course I know all he wants is sex, but guess what? I'm okay with that and it's _my_ choice to make! I just never thought my best friend of all people would be so judgmental over my life choices. You _used_ to support me. You used to be there for me. You're the only reason why I survived freshman year."

Sokka was taken aback by this. "Zuko…"

"I just don't get why you care so much about what I do with Jet." He got up from his desk. "But I'm gonna leave you alone to figure it out. I… I need some air."

"Zuko, I'm sorry – "

"We'll talk about this later." The firebender left the room.

Sokka kicked off his shoes and slumped down on his bed. What a mess. What was going on? Why _did_ he care so much about what Zuko did with Jet. Why did them being together make him so angry and sick to his stomach? Maybe Katara was on to something after all. Maybe he was homophobic? It didn't feel right, and he definitely didn't care about what his other gay friends were doing. Ty Lee had her girlfriend over a lot when Sokka was studying in Azula's room, and that didn't bother him at all. But if he wasn't homophobic, then that would mean… no. No, that would be absurd. Ridiculous. Right?


	6. Mythology

**Mythology**

A soft, satisfied smile lay claim to Azula's face as she closed her eyes and recovered her breath. All her stress and frustrations of the daily grind had floated right out the window. There was nothing quite like good sex on a Friday night to take the edge off.

"That was fun," Jet smirked, slightly out of breath, "but I think I'm gonna go bang your brother now."

"Don't be gross." Why did stupid Jet always have to ruin the moment by opening his stupid mouth?

He laughed. "What's wrong with sleeping with your brother?"

"Everything," she groaned. "You know, just because I don't think you're as awful as I once did doesn't mean I approve of you two being fuck buddies. He _still_ wants more than you can give him. He wants a boyfriend."

"I don't think you really care about that. I think you just want me all to yourself." He flashed her a pompous grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Please."

"And besides, Zuko doesn't need a boyfriend."

Azula raised an eyebrow at him.

"I give him the goods, and then he has Sokka for all that emotional stuff. The system works."

"Maybe for you."

"Well…" Jet was quiet for a moment. "Zuko did say he and Sokka recently had a fight."

"What about?" It was the first time Azula was hearing about it, though she had sensed something was off with Sokka lately.

"I don't know, I wasn't really listening. Something about Sokka acting crazy and possessive."

"Possessive? Over Zuko?"

"Yeah, like he's jealous of me or something." His brow furrowed in thought. "You don't think he's…"

"No, I don't think he's gay," Azula interjected.

"How did you know what I was going to say?"

"You think everyone's a little bit gay." She smirked. "Anyway, I _know_ he's not gay, maybe bi or something, but – "

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we fucked earlier this semester. And it was really great."

"Are you serious?" Jet scoffed. "Well he couldn't have been better than me."

Azula shrugged, smiling innocently. "He's a very generous lover."

"I'm sure he is," he said sardonically.

"Now who's acting jealous?" she teased.

"I _am_ jealous."

"Really?" she asked, starting to get her hopes up.

"Yeah! Of _you_."

And just like that, her excitement faded. "What, _you_ want to sleep with Sokka?"

"Sort of. I mean, he _is_ an attractive guy, and the thought of being an allegedly straight guy's first gay hookup is super hot…"

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but that's never going to happen."

"Wanna bet?" he challenged, staring her in the eye.

She was intrigued. "What are we talking here?"

"Given the universal truth that being completely straight or completely gay is a myth, I bet that I can seduce Sokka and get him to hook up with me."

"I'll take that bet. What are the stakes?"

"If you win, you get to peg me, and if I win, same thing," he grinned.

"Jet…"

"Okay, let me think. Hm." He paused. "How about this? The winner gets a no-questions-asked favor to be redeemed at the winner's discretion and the loser _has_ to follow through with it no matter what." He extended his hand to make it official.

"Deal." She shook his hand. "But I'm going to win this bet. Being completely straight is not a myth. _I'm_ completely straight after all."

"Oh, Azula, Azula, Azula," he said patronizingly, shaking his head.

"What, I _am_."

"Just keep telling yourself that. It's okay to be wrong."

She smiled at him. "Get out of my room."

* * *

_The following evening…_

It was Saturday and Sokka was stuck in his room writing a history term paper. He hated the tedium of writing. Some of the problem sets he was assigned for his engineering classes were somewhat fun for him, a creative challenge, but when it came to researching things of the past and drawing new, insightful conclusions, he just felt frustrated.

Suddenly, someone knocked timidly on his door. He was thankful for the distraction, though he hadn't been expecting anyone. He opened the door and was immediately disappointed.

"Hey."

"Oh. Hey, Jet. Zuko isn't here…" Sokka closed the door a tiny amount.

"Actually, I'm here to see you."

"Oh," Sokka said with surprise. "Um, okay."

"Is now a bad time?"

He considered making an excuse, but he was curious about why Jet wanted to talk to him. "No, I'm just working on a stupid paper. Come in."

Jet followed him in and closed the door behind him.

"What's up?" Sokka asked.

"Just wanted to talk to you about something." Jet looked around uncomfortably. "I guess this is a few months too late, but I know we got off on the wrong foot, and I was just hoping we could try to clear the air – "

"Look, Jet," he interrupted. "I don't like you, and you don't like me. We don't have to get along – "

"I like you," Jet interrupted back.

"You… you do?"

"Yeah," Jet laughed, "I mean, what's not to like?"

"I… I just assumed…"

"So, on that note, I'd like to know why you don't like me. What did I do to you? If it's because of Katara, then I – "

"It's not just Katara. It's just…" Sokka sighed. "You don't make Zuko happy."

"I think I do…"

Sokka's stomach churned at the implication. "Well you don't. Because he wants a boyfriend and he's just waiting for the day you stop being afraid of commitment."

"I've been completely upfront with Zuko about my intentions. He knows I'm never going to be his boyfriend. But he _chooses_ to be with me anyway. And Zuko's old enough to make his own decisions."

"I know, but – "

"I think that _you_ don't like that Zuko chooses to spend his time with me and not you."

And there it was. The truth. Sokka nodded slowly. "You're right." Admitting the truth was hard, but Sokka was tired of fighting it. "I don't like that he'd rather spend time with you than with me. You know, we were randomly assigned roommates last year when we were freshmen who knew no one and nothing about how to navigate BSSU. And we just… clicked. We instantly connected and became best friends. We did everything together. And I just wanted things to be the same this year, I just wanted it to be him and me. But then you came along on day one with your charisma and good looks and you just swept him off his feet – "

"You think I'm good looking?" Jet asked, smirking.

"You know what I mean."

"Hey, there's no need to be embarrassed. I think you're good looking too."

Why was Jet saying this? And why were his cheeks suddenly feeling hot? "Um, thanks, I guess."

"Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off."

"I was just going to say that I guess I don't have a real reason to dislike you. I... I never gave you fair chance, and I'm ashamed for how I've been acting lately, it's not who I really am. And I'm sorry."

Jet smiled at him. "Apology accepted."

Sokka smiled back.

"And if I'm being completely honest, I… I think it's really cute how protective you are over your friend."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but… forgive me if I'm overstepping here, but do you think that you could possibly care for Zuko as _more_ than a friend?"

Sokka shook his head. "You know, if you had asked me this a few days ago, I would have laughed in your face, but now..." He chuckled. "I'm not so sure. I really don't know. It's so confusing."

"Confusing?" Jet tilted his head to the side, a mischievous smile creeping across his cheeks. "Well… maybe _I_ could help you out with some of that confusion."

Sokka wrinkled his brow. Where was Jet going with this? "How…?"

He shrugged. "I don't know… have you ever tried being with another guy before?"

"No…"

"Do you want to?" Jet asked, looking deeply into Sokka's eyes. "Who knows, you might like it."

Sokka's heart stopped in his chest. Was this really happening? He looked back into Jet's eyes. They were really brown. Like chocolate. He swallowed. "I – I, ummm, I don't know, you mean with y-you? Like right now?"

"Or whenever." Jet placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "You'd be in very capable hands."

The flirtatious undertone was not missed on Sokka. "Um, can I, uh, think about it?"

"Of course. But… I think you've already made up your mind." Jet moved in a little closer to him.

Sokka's head was spinning. He was beyond confused, he was questioning his entire identity. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious. And Sokka always valued knowledge, keeping an open mind, and experimenting. He could think of this as a little science experiment. His head was already nodding before he fully came to his decision. Do this. For science. "I think you're right," he whispered.

Jet closed the distance between them by gently kissing Sokka on the lips.

It was _nice_. And not too different from kissing a girl. Well, except that Sokka had never kissed anyone taller than him before. He closed his eyes and deepened the kiss.

Slowly but deliberately, Jet walked Sokka over to his bed.

Sokka felt something stir in his flannel pajama bottoms as he pulled Jet on top of him. All his racing thoughts were pushed aside as he gave in to pleasure of the night.

* * *

Jet was on top of the world. Not only did he have an excellent tryst with Sokka, but now he had the pleasure of rubbing it in Azula's face. He walked up to her door and gave it three confident knocks.

"Come in," she shouted.

"Well, well, well." Jet kicked the door closed behind him. "Looks like _someone_ owes another someone a no-questions-asked favor. Spoiler alert. It's you."

"I don't believe you."

"What?" He feigned like he was hurt. "Why not?"

"Because it's only been a day since we made that stupid bet. Sokka may be lonely, but he's not _that_ lonely."

"I thought you'd say something like that, so… I _may _have proof," he sneered, pulling out his phone and walking toward Azula's bed.

"No…" She glared at him. "You didn't _film_ it, did you? Even for you, that's a pretty vile thing to do."

"Of course not." He motioned for her to sit next to him on the mattress. "I did record some audio however, which I will promptly delete after you give it a listen."

"Fine," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Let's listen."

Jet started the audio recording and watched Azula's face as it played.

"Okay." She arched her eyebrows. "That's definitely you and Sokka. And you're definitely kissing."

"Let me just skip to the good part," he smirked, fast-forwarding a bit.

"You didn't have _sex_ with him, did you?!"

"No, no, well, just the dry kind. It was hot. Dry sex is seriously underrated." He resumed the audio.

"Oh my." She blushed. "Those are definitely his moans. Oh, and there are yours."

He stopped the recording.

"Well then." She paused with her mouth open for a moment. "I know when I've been beaten. I concede defeat."

"You cheeks are all flushed, are you… you're turned on, aren't you."

"I am not. Well… maybe a bit," she purred, snaking an arm around Jet and kissing his neck.

"Hey now, hold on there," he laughed, stopping her, though he had to admit seeing her all hot and bothered like this was pretty sexy.

"What?" she questioned, disappointed and a tad angry.

"I _just _hooked up with Sokka, I'm not a miracle worker! I'm gonna need a few minutes before I can go again."

"Oh. You've just never come into my room for anything else before."

"Yeah, I guess I haven't," he shrugged before flopping onto his back on her bed. He pulled a blanket up around him. "Just give me ten minutes, and I'm all yours."

"Fine."

Feeling smug and satisfied, he smiled and closed his eyes.

* * *

As soon as Jet left, Sokka's head went back to spinning. What did this mean? He liked hooking up with Jet, _really_ liked it. Another _boy _had gotten him off. His chest was still heaving and his heart was still beating a mile a minute. Was he actually bi or something? And what did this mean about Zuko? Zuko… Zuko would probably be back soon. Things had been pretty tense between them since their fight. Sokka got out of bed and changed out of his sticky boxers and into clean ones. He was just about to comb his messed up hair when Zuko came back from the gym.

"Hey." Zuko tossed his gym bag on the floor and stripped off his sweaty t-shirt.

"H-Hey," Sokka greeted nervously.

"Are you okay?"

"Yep, yep. Everything's fine." Sokka grinned awkwardly.

"You seem a little jumpy."

"Yeah…" Sokka wanted to tell Zuko everything that happened, but he needed some time to process it first. He still wasn't sure about his true feelings, and he didn't want to possibly give his friend some false hope or make him feel uncomfortable. "I guess I just wanted to talk to you about something, something that's not easy for me to say."

"Oh. What's going on?"

"I need to apologize to you. I've been acting like a jerk. You were right that I've been isolating myself, and that I hated Jet from the very start. It wasn't fair, and I'm sorry." Sokka sighed with relief.

"I'm really happy to hear you say that, Sokka." Zuko smiled warmly at him. "I hate fighting with you."

"I hate fighting with you too – "

"And I also owe you an apology."

"You… you do?"

"Yeah. I know I brought up that I never complained when you had Suki over, but that's probably because even though she was over a lot, you _always_ made time for me." He looked down at his feet. "And I didn't really do that for you, and I should have." He looked back up. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Sokka smiled. "So… friends?"

"Best friends."

Sokka walked up to Zuko and gave him a big bear hug.

Zuko hugged him back. "You… you smell sweaty."

"Well so do you!"

"Yeah, I was just at the gym – "

"And I just came back from a run," he lied.

"Since when do you run…?"

"Hey, since we were both so good about working out today, why don't we go out for some ice cream tonight?" Sokka quickly suggested, changing the subject. "My treat."

"Yeah, I'd like that. Let me just get changed."

"Great! It's a date," is what Sokka wanted to say. Instead he just nodded and didn't say anything at all. Sokka still wasn't sure exactly what his head, heart, and gut were telling him, but he was really looking forward to spending some quality time alone with Zuko. Even if it was just a friend date, it was a date nonetheless.


	7. Roommates

**Roommates**

Azula woke up in a haze, as if she were still somewhere in dreamland. Though she felt well rested, even more energized than usual, she didn't trust her reality. She was still wearing her clothes from the day before, and there was a foreign object in her bed curled up next to her. Jet. What the hell happened last night? She began to stir.

"Wh-What time is it?" Jet asked groggily, barely opening his eyes.

Azula reached for her phone on her nightstand. "It's 9:30 AM!"

"WHAT?!" Jet shot straight up in bed. "I _slept_ here last night?! The whole night?!"

"Seems that way – "

"And we didn't even have sex?!"

Azula shook her head. She was just as confused as he was.

"I've…" Jet started to calm down. "I've never shared a bed with anyone before."

"Well neither have I!"

They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Do you…" Jet looked down at his lap. "Do you think it means anything?"

"Do you think it _has_ to mean something?" she blurted before her brain could scream at her that this was the wrong response. She studied Jet's face to see if she had hurt his feelings, but if she had, she couldn't tell.

"No." He paused. "I guess we were both just tired or something."

"I guess so." Azula wanted to kick herself. Her heart was telling her that this probably did mean something considering she had never felt comfortable enough or trusted anyone enough to fall asleep next to them before. Not that she had a history of listening to her heart anyway.

Jet shifted his eyes from left to right, keeping his gaze low. "I'm gonna go." He got up out of bed.

Azula nodded. Why couldn't she tell him to stay? Why couldn't she just admit her feelings? Was she really just going to watch him walk away?

He stopped at the door and looked at her, smiling awkwardly. "I'll, uhhh, catch you later." He left the room.

Azula sighed and fell onto her back on her mattress, mentally cursing herself. She was such an imbecile. What if Jet had been trying to connect with her when he asked if it meant something? What if she ruined their ill-defined relationship and he didn't want anything to do with her now? Why did all this matter to her so much?! At some point during her self-pity party, Ty Lee came into the room.

"Hey!" she cheerily greeted before flashing Azula an impish grin. "Fun night last night?"

"Not exactly…"

"What? But… when I came back last night, you and Jet were sleeping together! So I went and stayed at Mai's."

"That's the thing though, that's _all_ we did." Azula sat up and lowered her voice. "We didn't even have sex."

Ty Lee's gray eyes widened with shock.

"I know. Do you…" Azula felt foolish for asking. "Do you think it means something?"

"Of course it means something!" she answered without having to think twice about it. "You two obviously like each other. You would never let Jet sleep here if you didn't have feelings for him, and when I saw you two last night, you were all cuddled up together."

"But this morning, he got really awkward and left in a hurry." Azula frowned. "I think I messed everything up between us. I… don't think he's coming back."

"Azula…" Ty Lee sat down next to her. "Of course he'll be back. Y_ou_'_re the most beautiful_, smartest, _perfect_ girl in the world – "

"Well, you're right about all those things – "

"And if he doesn't realize that, then he's an idiot and I'll personally kick his sorry butt."

Azula laughed. "Thanks, Ty." She really hoped her roommate was right.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Sokka awoke with clarity. While he wasn't ready to put a label on anything, he finally understood what his heart wanted and how he truly felt about Zuko. But… how was he supposed to put his feelings for his best friend into words? How could he tell Zuko without sounding like a complete moron?

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Zuko mumbled through a mouthful of fire flakes from the beanbag chair. "Hey, are you okay? You're looking kinda… I don't know, constipated. Did the ice cream not sit well with you last night?"

"Ice cream always sits well with me," Sokka laughed. "But… I guess I am constipated in a way. Metaphorically speaking."

Zuko gave Sokka a look that read, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Here was Sokka's chance. Here was his opportunity to finally rip the band-aid off and tell him everything he was feeling. "I… I'll be right back." He grabbed his toiletries and sprinted for the bathroom. Great. Now Zuko was going to think that Sokka really was having bathroom trouble. Again. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, thinking hard about what he was going to say. But despite the self-pep talk, his mind went blank when he got back to his room and Zuko was staring at him with concerned yellow eyes.

"Sokka, what's going on?"

"Okay, okay, so… you know how I apologized for acting like a jerk and for not giving Jet a fair chance?"

"Yeah…"

"Well… there's more to it than that."

"Oh."

"This isn't easy for me to say, but the truth is… I've been jealous of Jet." Sokka felt his cheeks redden.

"Jealous of Jet?" Zuko sighed. "Sokka I know I've been spending a lot of time with him this semester, and I should have made more time for you, but – "

"No, that's not what I'm saying."

"Then… I don't get it."

"I don't know how to say this." Sokka's heart was pounding in his chest. "Zuko, I…" He took a seat next to his friend on the beanbag chair. "What I'm trying to say is, I don't want to be roommates anymore, I don't want to be just friends anymore – "

"You don't want to be my roommate anymore?! You don't want to be _friends_?!" Zuko looked like he had been slapped in the face.

"No, no, no! Just, ugh, let me finish!"

"What are you trying to say, Sokka?!"

"What I'm trying to say is…" Clearly Sokka wasn't communicating well enough with words, so he was going to have to take a different approach. He grabbed Zuko's cheeks, leaned in, and kissed him fervidly on the lips.

* * *

Jet needed to clear his head. Falling asleep next to Azula was the most intimate thing he'd ever done with anybody. He'd never allowed himself to be so vulnerable with anyone… just thinking about it was making him shiver. But what did it all mean?

He wandered through one of BSSU's wooded hiking trails. There was something about the twisted, winding path through the trees that calmed his nerves. It was a bit too quiet for his taste, however. The birds weren't chirping as the month neared winter. Having grown up in the foster system after being orphaned at a young age, Jet was used to a certain level of chaos and uncertainty. Maybe that's why he was drawn to Azula the way he was. While there was the calculated, always prompt, serious student side to the firebender, there was also madness in her eyes. She was a real thunderstorm in the bedroom too. Jet never knew what he was going to get with her, and he liked that. It was then that Jet noticed he'd been smiling, and he wondered how long he had been meandering with a stupid grin on his face.

He stopped in his tracks, suddenly realizing how he wanted to use his no-questions-asked favor Azula owed him. He turned around and headed back to the dorm, finding his way to Azula's room once again.

"Azula." He entered without warning, startling both Azula and Ty Lee.

"Don't you knock?!" Azula berated.

"Yeah! We could have been changing or something," Ty Lee added.

"Sorry. I just…" They had a good point. "This couldn't wait."

"What?" Azula asked with some hesitancy in her voice.

"I've come to cash in my no-questions-asked favor," he smirked.

"Great." Azula rolled her eyes. "What humiliating thing will you have me do now?"

"I hope this won't be too humiliating," Jet laughed nervously. He took a deep breath. "I want you to go out on a date with me."

Azula raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Like a real date."

She thought for a moment. "And what would we do on this 'real date'?"

"I don't know," he chuckled, "I've never really been on a date before."

"Me neither."

"Ooh ooh ooh, I know!" Ty Lee chimed in. "You could go out for dinner and a movie, or talk a romantic walk through the woods, or go to the zoo, or go see a concert – "

"I'll think of something," Jet interrupted. "So, what do you say? Oh wait, you _have_ to say yes because you owe me." He grinned.

"I will go out on a date with you – "

Jet's smile grew.

" – but under one condition."

He waited for her to elaborate.

"I don't want to go out with you as a favor to you. I want to go on a date with you because… I want to."

"Because you like me," he teased.

"Maybe I do," she muttered quickly, looking away from him.

"Maybe I like you too." He watched her smile at his words and he knew he made the right choice. "So, I'll pick you up next Friday night?"

"See you then."

He turned for the door and stopped. "But just so you know, you _still_ owe me that no-questions-asked favor."

"Bring it on," she challenged, smirking.

Chuckling, he left her room and closed the door behind him. Two seconds later, he heard Ty Lee and Azula screaming in celebration.

* * *

Zuko couldn't believe what was happening. After all this time pining hopelessly for Sokka, he was finally kissing the boy of his dreams! His heart was beating so fast, he feared it might explode. And from the feel of things down below, Sokka was really into it too. The blue-eyed boy was on top of him, straddling his waist on the beanbag chair as Zuko ran his fingers through Sokka's hair. It was a dream come true.

Sokka abruptly stopped, pulling himself away from Zuko and sitting upright. His chest was heaving.

It looked like this dream was coming to an end.

"I… I…"

"Sokka, what's wrong?"

"Before this goes any further, I have to tell you something."

Zuko's stomach knotted. And here he thought his heart couldn't beat any faster.

Sokka swallowed. "So as you may have guessed, I've been having a lot of confusing thoughts lately."

Zuko nodded, remembering back to the time when he was figuring out he liked boys.

"And, well, someone who helped me sort through this confusion was… Jet."

"Oh." That was unexpected. "That was nice of him – "

"We hooked up. Yesterday."

"WHAT?!" Zuko thought his jaw might hit the floor.

"When I said I was out running, I was really with him. I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner, I was just so confused about everything and Jet was only trying to help me figure things out. It didn't mean anything – "

"I get it." He sighed. "Jet can be… very persuasive."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed.

"Just maybe next time, you'll think about inviting me?" he joked.

Sokka chuckled. "I don't think there's going to be a next time, but good to know."

Zuko smiled. "So… is that it? Can we go back to kissing now?" Zuko was beyond eager.

"There's one more thing…"

"Oh boy."

"Yeah… I'm just gonna come right out and say it." Sokka looked him dead in the eye. "I banged your sister."

"Gross! When?!"

"Earlier this semester. It was just the one time, I swear. And I think the main reason why I was so attracted to her is because she reminds me of you. Please don't hate me."

"Sokka…" Zuko took a deep breath. "I appreciate your honesty. And I'm just really happy you survived."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know, I just always kind of assumed she had teeth down there or something."

Sokka burst out laughing. "I can assure you, everything is in working order."

Zuko blushed at the implication.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"Not at all. I mean, I'm not happy those things happened, but… they all led you here to me, didn't they?"

"I guess they did," Sokka smiled sweetly.

"So is _that_ everything you wanted to confess to me?"

"Well…"

Zuko wasn't sure he could take any more startling news.

"Just that…" Sokka took Zuko's hands. "I'm _crazy_ about you. I guess I've been for a while and just didn't realize it until I saw you with Jet."

"I'm crazy about you too, you seriously have no idea – "

"What I was trying to say before but failed miserably was that I want to be _more_ than roommates, and more than friends, I…"

Zuko held his breath with anticipation.

"I want to be boyfriends. If you want to, that is – "

"I want to!" He squeezed Sokka's hands. "I've wanted to for so long, I just never thought it would happen."

Sokka grinned. "I didn't see this coming either, but… I'm really happy."

"Me too," Zuko smiled. "Okay, so _now_ can we go back to kissing?"

"You betcha." Sokka leaned in and closed his eyes.

Zuko met his hungry mouth, kissing him desperately. Sure, maybe the semester started out rocky, and there were plenty of bumps, twists, and turns along the way, but things were finally falling into place. While Zuko wanted to run and scream to all his friends that Sokka was his _boyfriend_, there was no way in hell he was going to stop kissing his blue-eyed roommate, not even for a second.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for reading my story! Please favorite and/or review if you enjoyed it : )


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